As a gamer I have little knowledge of loot crates because they haven't (yet) filtered into the sorts of games I play.

I had no idea about 'skin betting' until I saw a report on BBC Breakfast this morning, which said about a crackdown on skin betting associated with games such as CS:GO, albeit it didn't really explain much apart from the association with kids and unregulated gambling.

From what I've now read it seem like you can get random skins (cosmetic changes to guns/knives) as rewards for in game actions, some are rare hence now have attracted a monetary value, and hence can be used as collateral to gamble on the results of e-sports etc, and its being facilitated by unregulated sites and exposed to minors etc.

Its all bit of a negative development from the trading aspects they brought into MMOs years ago (I recall it from Guild Wars circa 2008, and later they introduced it into Diablo 3) where you could trade kit against in game currency, then you could later buy in game currency, or just buy someone else's account that was prepopulated with rare drop etc.

So, as a gamer how aware are you about things such as these, and do you partake in any of it ?

Posted a few articles on this in the EA thread, and with the whole STBF debacle its hard to miss on the game sites I check for news to post.

But its just not something that interests me, if anything I've rebelled against a bit and have removed legendary skins from the guns I use in the likes of BF1 etc and I know run with bog standard tags rather than rare "look at what I got" tags.

I suppose its human nature wanting to one up on other players, personalising your avatar to fit your perfect ideal and it will always be an easy way for developers to make money.

But yes the added element of chance now added will hit many gamers hard in the brains dopamine soft spot, which lets be honest after years of playing and beating games will be overdeveloped in most gamers.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

The good news: Predator really is coming to Ghost Recon: Wildlands. The bad news: you can't actually play as one of the deadly alien hunters. Boo!

Starting tomorrow (the 14th December), players will be able to take on a special challenge in which they're tasked with hunting the Predator. Ubisoft calls it "the most difficult fight of all Ghost Recon: Wildlands". You can tackle it solo or team up to take it down. The event will last until "early January".

Perhaps the best part of this is that if you manage to survive, you'll unlock exclusive items, such as the Predator's mask. And yes, it gives you Predator vision.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

Can playing too many video games be a mental health condition? In some circumstances, the World Health Organization thinks that it can be, New Scientist has learned.

The WHO is to include gaming disorder in its International Classification of Diseases for the first time. This widely used diagnostic manual was last updated in 1990, and the latest version – called ICD-11 – is set to be published in 2018.

The wording of the gaming disorder entry that will be included in ICD-11 is yet to be finalised, but the draft currently lists a variety of criteria clinicians could use to determine if a person’s gaming has become a serious health condition. According to this draft, someone has gaming disorder if they give increasing priority to gaming “to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests”,

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

Suspect arrested in fatal Call of Duty ‘swatting’ incident, Accused taken into custody in L.A.; victim was in Kansas.

A Los Angeles man has been arrested in connection with the “swatting” hoax that left one man dead in Wichita, Kan.

Tyler Barriss, 25, was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson. The Associated Press and NBC reported the arrest early this morning.

“Swatting” is a dangerous hoax in which someone telephones a fake emergency call to a police department with the intention of sending an armed response to the victim’s address.

In this case, Wichita’s 911 dispatch was called Thursday by someone claiming to have shot his father dead in an argument with his parents. The caller said he still had his weapon and was holding his mother and younger brother hostage. The caller also threatened to douse the home with gasoline and light it. He gave the address of the home twice.

Wichita police responded and confronted Andrew Finch, 28. Officers said Finch was ordered to raise his hands but moved them to his waist. Officers said they believed he was reaching for a weapon, and fired, killing him. Finch was not armed.

Barriss is accused of making the false report to Wichita’s 911 dispatchers. The Wichita Police Department posted the audio of that call to its Facebook page yesterday.

Reports yesterday suggested that Finch had been drawn into an argument among gamers playing Call of Duty: WWII. Finch appears to have no connection to the game or the dispute arising from it. Instead, one gamer is said to have provided two others with the Wichita address where Finch was killed.

That gamer was known by the handle “Miruhcle.” It’s unknown whether that is Barriss or if Barriss is one of the other two (“Baperizer” and “Swautistic”), or which of the three phoned the threat.

Lisa Finch, the mother of Andrew Finch, said her son was “not a gamer.” The professional Call of Duty player Tommy “ZooMaa” Paparratto also accused the gamer known as Swautistic of making SWAT threats in the past.

good that they got the scum.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

Nice to see HZD make it in at 4, especially when you consider it as being the only "new" game there.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

There have been some incredible PR stunts for game launches in the past, but this latest effort from Capcom UK looks particularly appetising. To celebrate the launch of Monster Hunter: World, it's throwing an epic feast at London's Flat Iron Square, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th January. The best part? It's free.

At the Monster Hunter Meat Shack, you'll be sharing meat platters or chowing down on huge burgers apparently served from a giant meat spit, all while playing the game at the table. The aim is to match the hearty meals your character enjoys to earn stat buffs before a hunt, and by all accounts, it sounds brilliant.

There will also be plenty of fan service, with memorabilia adorning the walls and a giant Rathalos head outside. If you're into Monster Hunter, over 16, and a ravenous carnivore, this seems like a mouth-watering prospect.

It's popular, too, as tickets are currently sold out. A second round of tickets will be made available from 10th January, so if you want to go, you'd best keep tabs on the event's website.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

It’s been nearly six years since CD Projekt Red announced it was working on a Cyberpunk 2077 video game, and exactly five years since the Witcher series developer revealed the game’s first trailer. Understandably, fans of the studio’s games and the promise of a massive, open-world Cyberpunk RPG are hungry for new information.

So it’s no surprise that people are freaking out over a single, innocuous tweet from the official Cyberpunk video game Twitter account — the first tweet from that account in more than four years.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

The suspect in the “swatting” incident that led to the shooting death of a Wichita, Kansas man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to arrest records, via The Wichita Eagle.

Tyler Barriss, 25, was booked by Sedgwick County police on Thursday after being extradited from California. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, giving false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. Barriss is being held on $500,000 bail.

According to Kansas law, involuntary manslaughter is described as the killing of a human being as a result of reckless behavior or in the commission of an unlawful act. As reported by Glixel, Barriss could face a maximum fine of $300,000 and up to 36 months in prison under the manslaughter charge.

Barriss was arrested on a fugitive warrant in late December by Los Angeles police. Police believe Barriss was responsible for making a hoax emergency call to Wichita, Kansas’ 911 dispatch, and reporting a fake homicide and hostage situation. Barriss provided a false address to police.

Wichita police responded to that call and confronted Andrew Finch, 28. Officers said Finch was ordered to raise his hands but moved them to his waist. Officers said they believed he was reaching for a weapon, and fired, killing him. Finch was not armed.

Barriss is accused of making the false report, which reportedly spawned from an argument after a wager-based game of Call of Duty: WWII. Finch appears to have no connection to the game or the dispute arising from it. Instead, one gamer is said to have provided two others with the Wichita address where Finch was killed.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.

Lad does his due diligence but he really needs to use a voice changer.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group.
We used to call this bigotry.
Now we call this being woke.